BOOK VII

THIS seventh Book, in the fifteen chapters which are contained in it as given
below, tells about the events that occurred in the reign of Anastasius; in the
first chapter, about the beginning of his reign, and how Epiphanius the bishop
was ejected; and in the second chapter, about the Isaurians who rebelled and
were subdued, and the tyrants at the head of them were killed; and in the third
chapter, about Theodosiopolis and Amida, the cities which were subdued; and in
the fourth, about the manner in which the city of Amida was subdued; and the
fifth, about the famine that was in it, and how the Persians departed from it;
the sixth, about Dara, how the city was built; the seventh, about the expulsion
of Macedonius, who was ejected from Constantinople; the eighth, containing the
letter of Simeon the presbyter, giving information concerning his expulsion; the
ninth, about his successor Timothy, and how the expression, "Who was
crucified for us," was proclaimed in Constantinople in his days; the tenth,
about the Synod which was held in Sidon in the days of Flavian and Akhs'noyo the
bishops, in the fifth year,1 the eight hundred and
twenty-third year of the Greeks; the eleventh, about the petition which was
framed by the monks of the East and Cosmas of Antioch, and presented to the
Synod; the twelfth chapter, about the Synod that was held in Tyre in the days of
Severus and Akhs'noyo, which anathematised the Council of Chalcedon and the Tome
of Leo with great freedom of speech; the thirteenth chapter, about Ariadne the
queen, who died, and about Vitalian the tyrant, who took Hypatius prisoner in
war; the fourteenth chapter, about Timothy, who died, and his |148
successor was John; and about demons that entered into the Egyptians, and
Alexandrians, and Arabians who came to the dedication festival at Jerusalem, and
barked at the Cross and then ceased;the fifteenth, telling who were
chief priests in the days of Anastasius the king. Anastasius, then, died in the
eight hundred and twenty-ninth year of the Greeks, in the three hundred and
twenty-fourth Olympiad.

CHAPTER I

THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TREATS OF THE REIGN OF THE EMPEROR
ANASTASIUS WHO RECEIVED THE KINGDOM AFTER ZENO, AND OF EUPHEMIUS2
THE BISHOP THERE, WHO WAS EJECTED

Zeno,3 having reigned seventeen years, as is
recorded above in the sixth Book and its chapters, died in the three hundred and
seventeenth Olympiad, in the eight hundred and second year by the reckoning of
the Greeks, the fourteenth Indiction, on the fourth day of the Great Week. And
Anastasius, who was silentiary decurion, received the kingdom. This man was from
the city of Dyrrhachium, and was powerful in aspect, vigorous in mind, and a
believer. When he was a soldier he had confidential friendship with Ariadne the
queen, who desired and agreed to make him king. To this man a few days before he
became king [it happened as follows].4 There was a
certain person named John the Scholastic, brother of Dith, a native of Amida, a
valiant man, and just and upright, fearing God and forsaking evil; but by his
own accord and freewill |149 he was
constant in the ministry, being a scholastic of the Church. And when he was in
Constantinople on a confidential missionon behalf of his city, he saw a
vision once, and again a second time, showing that Anastasius the silentiary
should be made king. And he called him, and said to him, "In accordance
with the rectitude and the virtues and the honour of thy soul, that thou mayest
fulfil the goodwill of God, do thou be peaceable and gentle and modest and
upright, and show thyself towards everyone quiet and kind for the benefit of all
men, who are thy kindred. It is not because I want anything from thee, or
because I would flatter thee, that I reveal to thee that thou shalt be made king
very soon." And because this John was celebrated and honoured for his
merits, and was known also to many, and, moreover, because he was a learned man,
Anastasius believed him, and took it as true; and he was constant with him there
in the vigil of the church. But it happened that when he received the kingdom,
and he was desirous of rewarding his friend with gifts of gratitude such as are
sought after by and visible to men, this John would not take anything at all
from him; but he soon left the city and returned to his own country : being
content with the documents 5 which Zeno had drawn
up, he only took assurance from Anastasius that they should be received.

But Euphemius the bishop there had been threatening Peter of Alexandria that
he would decree his deprivation, because he wrote expressly a reply to Fravitta
the predecessor of Euphemius, and also because in his synodical letter which was
sent by some clergy, Longinus the presbyter and Andrew the deacon, he had
anathematised the Synod of Chalcedon and the Tome. But at that time Euphemius
was prevented from doing this by the advice of Archelaus, bishop of Caesarea, |150
a wise man who happened to be there. And when Peter died, Euphemius maintained
the same hatred against Athanasius, Peter's successor in the bishopric of
Alexandria, who more openly and authoritatively anathematised the Synod and the
Tome; against him Euphemius was making preparations to depose him, and called in
Felix of Rome to his aid. And when his machination became known to Athanasius
through his Apokrisiarioi there, who wrote and also sent to him a copy of
the letter which had been sent by him 6to
Felix, then Athanasius made preparation, and wrote to Sallust of Jerusalem, and
received a reply from him concerning the agreement of the faith. And they both
informed Anastasius the king respecting Euphemius that he was a heretic, and
showed a copy of his letter in confirmation (of their charge). And when his
deeds were examined by certain bishops who happened to be in Constantinople, and
also by believing monks from Alexandria and the East, he was banished and
ejected from his see; and Macedonius, who also was ejected fifteen years later,
as is recorded below, became bishop in his stead.

CHAPTER II

THE SECOND CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK TELLS US HOW ISAURIA REVOLTED

Now the Isaurians prospered in the days of Zeno (who withdrew before
Basiliscus and Marcus the tyrants, and dweltas a refugee in the
strongholds there called Salmon); and they also had free intercourse in the
kingdom in his days, and he was their rewarder, and he counted them worthy to
receive good things of all kinds from him; and on that account they could not
bear their good fortune, but were proud and insolent when Anastasius became
king. And they raised a rebellion against him, and they appointed a |151
tyrant for themselves, and they refused the gifts which were sent to them by
Anastasius, and they would not consent to give him tribute, but they even raided
the provinces round about them. And when an outcry and accusation against them
was brought to the king, he sent an army and made preparations against them. And
the Isaurians were defeated in battle; and they showed themselves to be weak,
and were subdued, and the tyrants were killed.

But an earthquake occurred. And locusts invaded 'Arab 7of Mesopotamia. And there was a famine in the year nine,8of which James the doctor of Batnae wrote an account, in the eleventh
(year) of the reign of Anastasius. And many of the Arabs died, both in Amida,
whither they retired, and in various other places.

THE THIRD CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK MAKES KNOWN HOW THEODOSIOPOLIS OF
ARMENIA WAS SUBDUED, AND CONCERNING THE CITY AMIDA OF MESOPOTAMIA

When10 Piroz, king of the Persians, was reigning
in his own country, in the thirteenth (year) of Anastasius, the Huns issued
forth from the gates that were guarded by the Persians, and from the mountainous
region there, and invaded the territory of the Persians. And Piroz became
alarmed, and he gathered an army and went to meet them. And when he inquired
from them the reason of their preparation and invasion of his country, they said
to him, "What the kingdom of the Persians gives to us by way of tribute is |152
not sufficient for us Barbarians, who, like rapacious wild beasts, reject God in
the North-West region; and we live by our weapons, our bow and our sword; and we
support ourselves by flesh-food of all kinds; and the king of the Romans has
promised by his ambassadors to give us twice as much tribute whenever we shall
dissolve our friendship with you Persians; and accordingly we made our
preparations, and we have come here, that either you shall give us as much as
the Romans, and we will ratify our treaty with you, or else if you do not give
it to us, take war." And when Piroz perceived the determination of the
Huns, although they were much fewer in number than his own army, he thought it
well to play them false and deceive them; and he promised them to give it. And
four hundred of the chief men of the Huns assembled, and they had with them
Eustace, a merchant of Apamea, a clever man, by whose advice they were guided.
But Piroz also and four hundred men with him met together. And they went up into
a mountain; and they made a treaty, and they ate together, and they swore,
lifting up their hands to heaven. And when few remained along with the four
hundred men who were to receive the tribute money which was being collected, and
the rest of the Huns had dispersed to return to their own country; after ten
days Piroz broke faith with them, and prepared war, both against the Huns who
had dispersed, and against the four hundred who remained and those with them.
But Eustace the merchant encouraged the Huns that they should not be alarmed
even though they were very much fewer. And in the place where the oaths were
made, they cast musk and spices upon coals of fire, and made an offering to God
according to the advice of Eustace, that he might overthrow the liars. And they
joined battle with Piroz, and killed him and a great number of his army; and
they pillaged the Persian territory, and returned to their own country. And the
body of Piroz was not found; and in his country they call him the liar.

But Kawad, who succeeded him in the kingdom, and his |153
nobles cherished hatred against the Romans, saying that they had caused the
incursion of the Huns, and the pillage and the devastation of their country. And
Kawad gathered an army, and went out against Theodosiopolis in Armenia of the
Romans, and subdued the city; and he treated its inhabitants mercifully, because
he had not been insulted by them; but he took Constantine, the ruler of their
city, prisoner.

And in the month of Octoberhe reached Amida of Mesopotamia. (But
though he assailed it) with fierce assaults of sharp arrows and with
battering-rams, which thrust the wall to overthrow it, and pent-houses, which
protected those who brought together the materials for the besiegers' moundand
raised it up and made it equal in height with the wall, for three months, day
after day, yet he could not take the city by storm; while his own people were
suffering much hardship through work and fighting, and he was constantly hearing
in his ears the insults of disorderly men on the wall, and their ridicule and
mockery, and he was reduced to great straits. And indignation and regret took
possession of him, because the winter came upon him in its severity, and because
the Persians, being clad in their loose garments, showed themselves inefficient;
and their bows were greatly relaxed by the moisture of the atmosphere; and their
battering-rams did not hurt the wall or make any breaches in it, for (the
defenders) were binding bundles of rushes from the beds with chains, and
receiving upon them the violence of the battering-rams, and thus preventing them
from breaking the wall. But they themselves made a breach in the wall from
inside, and they carried the material of the mound from without into |154
the fortress within, and they gradually propped up the cavity with beams from
beneath. And when chosen Persian warriors ascended the mound and laid beams upon
the wall to effect an entrance (now they were clad in armour, and the king was
near with his army outside, and was supporting them with display of strength and
shooting of arrows, and encouraging them with shouting, and stimulating them and
urging them forward by his presence and appearance, they being about five
hundred men), the defenders threw strings of skin just flayed from an ox, and
soaked vetch mixed with myrrh-oil from the wall upon the beams, and poured the
liquid from the vetch upon the skins to make them slippery, and they placed fire
among the props which were beneath the mound. And when they had engaged in a
conflict with each other for about six hours, and (the besiegers) had failed to
effect an entrance, the fire blazed up and consumed the wood of the props, and
immediately also the rest of the materialwas reduced to ashes by the
violence of the fire, and the mound was destroyed and fell.11
And the Persians who were on the top of it were burned, and they were also
bruised, being struck with stones by those on the wall. And the king retired
with shame and grief, being more than ever mocked and insulted by those daring,
proud, and boastful men. For there was no bishop in that city to be their
teacher and to keep them in order. For John the bishop, a chaste and noble man
of honoured character, had died a few days before. This man was called from the
monastery of Karthamin, and he, having been elected, came, and he became their
bishop. However, he did not change his asceticism and self-mortification and
habit of life, but was constant (in them) by day and by night. And he |155
warned and rebuked the rich men of the city at the time of the famine and the
incursion of the Arabs 12 and the pestilence,
saying that they should not. keep back the corn in the time of distress, but
should sell it and give to the poor; lest if they kept it back, they might be
only hoarding it for the enemy, according to the word of Scripture. And so, in
fact, it happened. To him an angel appeared openly, standing beside the
altar-table, and he foretold to him the incursion of the enemy, and that he
should be taken away as a righteous man from the face of the enemy; and he
revealed the saying, and published it in the presence of the people of the city,
that they might turn and be saved from the wrath.

CHAPTER IV

THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS HOW THE CITY OF AMIDA WAS
SUBDUED, AND WHAT BEFELL ITS INHABITANTS

When Kawad and his army had been defeated in the various assaults which they
made upon the city, and a large number of his soldiers had perished, his hands
were weakened; and he asked that a small gift of silver should be given to him,
and he would withdraw from the city. But Leontius, the son of Pappus, the chief
councillor, and Cyrus the governor,and Paul Bar Zainab the steward,
by the messengers whom they sent to Kawad, demanded from him the price of the
garden vegetables which his army had eaten, as well as for the corn and wine
which they gathered and brought away from the villages. And when he was greatly
grieved at this, and was preparing to withdraw in disgrace, Christ appeared to
him in a vision of the night, as he himself |156
afterwards related it, and said to him, that within three days He would deliver
up to him the inhabitants of the city, because they had sinned against Him; and
this took place as follows:— On the western side of the city by the Tripyrgion
was a guard of monks who were told off from the monastery of John of
Anzetene, and their archimandrite was a Persian. And on the outside, right
opposite this watch-tower, a certain Marzban,named Kanarak the Lame,
was encamped. And day after day, vigilantly watching by night and by day, he was
diligent and clever in devising plans for the subjugation of the city. For there
was one whom they called in the city Kutrigo, a turbulent and thievish fellow;
this man was very daring in all kinds of attacks upon the Persians, and he used
to make raids and snatch away from them cattle and goods; so that they also,
being accustomed to hear the men on the wall crying out, used to call him
Kutrigo. Kanarak observed this man, and perceived that he went out by the
aqueducts adjoining the Tripyrgion, and snatched up spoil, and went in
again. And for a time the Persians let him accomplish his will, marking and
examining his actions, and they ran after him and saw the place from which he
came out and where he went in.

But it happened on that night on which the city was subdued, that there was
darkness, and a dense cloud sending clown soft rain; and a certain man gave a
friendly entertainment to the monks who guarded the Tripyrgion, and he
gave them wine to drink late in the night, and consequently sleep overtook them,
and they did not watch diligently upon their guard, according to their usual
custom. And when Kanarak and a few soldiers came up, pursuing Kutrigo, and drew
near |157 to the wall, the monks did
not cry out nor cast stones; and the man perceived that they were asleep, and he
sent for scaling-ladders and for his troops; and his followers went in by the
aqueducts, and climbed the tower of the monks, and killed them. And they took
the tower and also the battlement; and they set up the scaling-ladders against
the wall, and sent to the king.

But when those who were in charge of another tower, their neighbours, heard
it, they cried out, and tried to come to the monks who were being killed, and
were not able; but some of them were wounded by arrows from the Persians, and
died. And when the report reached Cyrus the governor, and he came up and torches
were held close to him, he was easily struck by an arrow from the Persians, who
stood in the darkness and were themselves unhurt by the archers; and he withdrew
wounded. But when it was morning, and the king and his army reached the place,
they set scaling-ladders against the wall; and he ordered his troops to go up;
and many of those who went up perished, being wounded by arrows and by stones,
and driven back by spears. And those who through fear turned and fled down the
scaling-ladders were killed by the king's command, as cowards and fugitives from
the battle. Whereupon the Persians took courage and set themselves either to
gain the victory by conquering and subduing the city, or being smitten in the
actual conflict to escape reproach and slaughter from their king; for he was
near, and was a spectator of their struggle. But the citizens tried to loose
from beneath the keystone of the arch of the tower in which the Persians were,
and they were engaged in loosening the supports; and while this was taking
place, another tower was subdued, and another and another in succession, and the
guards of the wall were killed.

But Peter, a man of huge stature, a native of 'Amkhoro, |158
being clad in an iron coat of mail, held the battlement of one side alone by
himself; and did not allow the Persians to pass, and repelled and hurled back
with a spear those who assailed him from without and within, holding his ground
and standing like a hero : until at length, when five or six towers on another
side were subdued, he also fled and was not killed. And the Persians first got
possession of the whole wall and held it; and they spent a night and a day and
the following night in killing and driving back the guards. And at last they
descended and opened the gates, and the army entered, having received the king's
command to destroy the men and women of all classes and ages for three days and
three nights. But a certain Christian prince of the country of Arran pleaded
with the king on behalf of a church called the Great Church of the Forty
Martyrs; and he spared it, being full of people. And after three days and three
nights the slaughter ceased by the king's command. And men went in to guard the
treasures of the Church and of the great men of the city, that the king might
have whatever was found in them. But the order also was given that the corpses
of those who were slain in the streets and of those whom they had crucified
should be collected and brought round to the northern side of the city, so that
the king, who was on the south side, might enter in. And they were collected,
and they were numbered as they were brought out, eighty thousand; besides those
that were heaped up in the taverns, and were thrown into the aqueducts, and were
left in the houses. And then the king entered the treasury of the Church, and
seeing there an image of the Lord Jesus, depicted in the likeness of a Galilean,
he asked who it was. And they answered him, "It is God";13and he bowed his head before it, and said, "He it was Who said to me,
'Stay, and receive from Me the city and its inhabitants, for they have sinned
against Me.' " But he took away a quantity of silver and gold of the holy
vessels, and costly garments formerly belonging to Isaac Bar Bar'ai, a consul
and a rich man of the city, which came to the Church by inheritance a few years
before. But he found there also good wine dried into its dregs, which |159
used to be brought out and placed in the sun for seven years together, and at
last it became dry; from this the stewards, when on their journeys, were
accustomed to take some, ground to dust, in clean linen pouches. And they would
put a little of it into water so as to make a mixture, which, when they drank
it, afforded the sweetness and flavour of wine. And they told the ignorant that
it was "h'nono." And the king admired it greatly, and took it away.
And the art of making this agreeable beverage was lost to the sons of the Church
from that time.

But the gold and silver belonging to the great men's houses, and the
beautiful garments, were collected together and given to the king's treasurers.
But they also took down all the statues of the city, and the sun-dials, and the
marble; and they collected the bronze and everything that pleased them, and they
placed them upon wooden rafts that they made, and sent them by the river Tigris,
which flows past the east of the city and penetrates into their country. But the
king sought for the chiefs and great men of the city; and Leontius, and Cyrus
the governor, who was wounded by the arrow, and the rest of the great men, were
brought to him; but the Persians had killed Paul Bar Zainab the steward, lest he
should make known to the king that they had found a quantity of gold in his
possession. But they clothed Leontius and Cyrus in filthy garments, and put
swine-ropes on their necks, and made them carry pigs, and led them about
proclaiming and exposing them, and saying," Rulers who do not rule their
city well nor restrain its people from insulting the king, deserve such insult
as this." But at last the great men, and all the chief craftsmen, were
bound and brought together, and set apart as the king's captives; and they were
sent to his country with the military escort which brought them down. But
influential men of the king's army drew near and said to him, "Our kinsmen
and brethren were killed in battle by the inhabitants of the city," and
they asked him that one-tenth |160 of
the men should be given to them for the exaction of vengeance. And they brought
them together and counted them, and gave to them in proportion from the men; and
they put them to death, killing them in all sorts of ways.

But the king bathed himself in the bath of Paul Bar Zainab, and after winter
he departed from the city. And he left in it Glon the general as governor, and
two Marzbans, and about three thousand soldiers to guard the city, and
John Bar Habloho, one of the rich men, and Sergius Bar Zabduni, to rule the
people.

And then in the summer the Romans came, and their leaders were Patrick the
commander-in-chief, an old man, upright and a believer, but deficient in mental
power, and Hypatius, and Celer the master of the offices, and at length also
Areobindus; moreover, Count Justin, who received the kingdom after Anastasius,
accompanied them. And they met together, and they attacked the city with wooden
towers and excavations, and all kinds of engines; and they set fire also to the
gate of the city, which was called the gate of Mâr Z''uro, to effect an
entrance upon the Persians; however, they were hindered because they were
resting, and they did not rush in, for the Persians shut the gate. And the
Romans did not subdue it nor take it from them by assault; although the
inhabitants were reduced to misery from famine, day after day, until at last the
people there were eating one another. But how this happened, although the story
is horrible and wretched, yet because it is true, I shall relate how in the
following fifth chapter of this seventh Book.

CHAPTER V

THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE FAMINE WHICH
OCCURRED WHEN AMIDA WAS BEING SUBDUED, AND HOW THE PERSIANS WENT OUT FROM IT
AND DEPARTED TO THEIR OWN COUNTRY

King Kawad, as stated above, on his departure with his army from Amida to his
own country, left in it Glon, a |161
general, and two Marzbans, and about three thousand soldiers to guard the
city; and also two or three rich men and some private inhabitants. These the
Roman generals did not overcome, nor did they subdue and take the city. But at
last Patrick went down to Arzanene of the Persians, and carried off captives,
and subdued fortresses there. And Areobindus and Hypatius went down to Nisibis
and did not subdue it, although the citizens were favourably inclined towards
the Romans, and showed themselves lazy in the fight. However, the king of the
Persians hearing of it, came with an army against the Romans; and they fled
before him, and they left their tents and the heavy baggage which they had with
them. Areobindus fled from Arzamena and Aphphadana, and Hypatius and Patrick and
others from Thelkatsro. And they lost many horses and their riders, who fell
from the cliffs of the mountains, and were bruised, and perished, and were
mangled. But 14 Farzman alone, a warlike man,
prospered in battle several times; and he was celebrated and dreaded amongst the
Persians, and his very name terrified them, and his exploits wasted and weakened
them; and they proved themselves to be cowards in his presence, and fell before
him. This man at last came to Amida with five hundred horsemen, and he watched
the Persians who went out to the villages, and he killed some of them, and he
took the animals which they had with them, and also their horses.

Now a certain crafty fellow, Gadono by name, of the town of Akhorè, whom I
myself know, introduced himself to him, and made a compact with him, that he
would beguile and bring out to him, on some pretext, Glon, the Persian general,
and three or four hundred horsemen. And because this aforesaid Gadono was a
hunter of wild animals, and partridge, and fish, he used to go in freely to
Glon, carrying in his hands a |162
present of game for him; and he ate bread in his presence, and received from him
out of the property of the city what was equal in value to the game.

And at last he told him that there were about one hundred Romans and five
hundred horses nearly seven miles away from the city, at a place called 'Afotho
Ro''en; and as a friend he advised him to go out and take possession of the
beasts, to kill the Romans, and make a name for himself.

And he sent scouts, who saw a few Romans and the horses, and returned and
gave him the information. Then he made preparation and took with him four
hundred horsemen, and this Gadono upon a mule; and he led him and set him in the
midst of the ambush of the Romans, who were on the watch for him. So the Romans
cut the Persians to pieces, and they brought away the head of Glon to
Constantia.

Upon this, distress and rage seized the son of Glon and the Marzbans, who
used to allow the inhabitants who happened to be shut up in the city to go out
to the market, which was held beside the wall by peasants from the villages.
These peasants brought wine and wheat and other produce, and sold them both to
the Persians and to the citizens, while horsemen were stationed close to them,
and escorted them, a certain number at a time, and conducted them in. And by an
excellent law of the Persians, no one dared to take anything from the villagers,
who sold what they liked and received the price in money and kind from the city;
consequently they attended the market diligently. However, in consequence of the
slaughter of Glon and the horsemen, the market was held no more. And the great
men who were left in the city, and about ten thousand persons besides, were
arrested and shut up in the Stadium, and they were kept there without food; and
they ate their shoes, and they also ate and drank their excrements. And at last
they attacked one another; and now when they were almost perishing, those who
were left in the Stadium |163 were let
loose like the dead from their graves in the midst of the city. And famishing
women, who were found there in troops, laid hold of some of the men by means of
blandishments and guile and artifices, and overcame them, and killed and ate
them; and more than five hundred men were eaten by women. And the famine which
was in this city being so grievous, the distress surpassed the blockade of
Samaria and the destruction of Jerusalem, which is recorded in Scripture and
Josephus relates. But at last Farzman came to the city, and he made a treaty
with the Persians there, for they, too, were weak. And the chiefs of the Romans
and the Persians sat by the gate of the city, while the Persians went out
carrying as much as they could, and they were not searched. And if any of the
citizens accompanied them they were asked whether they desired to remain or
would like to go with the Persians. So the evacuation of the city took place.

But eleven hundred pounds of gold were given to Kawad by Celer, the master of
the offices, for the ransom of the city and for peace. And when the documents
were drawn up they brought the drafts to the king for his signature. And the
king fell asleep, and it was told him in a vision that he should not make peace;
and when he awoke he tore up the paper, and departed to his own country, taking
the gold with him.

But Farzman remained in the city to govern its inhabitants and the country.
(Now a remission of tribute was granted by the king for seven years.) And he
dealt kindly with the inhabitants of the city. And he bestowed gifts lavishly on
those who returned from captivity, and he received them peaceably, every man
according to his rank. And the city was at peace and was inhabited. And building
was added to the wall. And, by the advice of Dith, a merciful bishop was sent
again to the city, a quiet and affable man, a monk, and a councillor, Thomas |164
by name. And, besides, the providence of God summoned and conveyed thither
Samuel the Just, from the monastery of the Katharoi,a
miracle-worker and a "dissolver of doubts";and he
also sustained the city by his prayers, and aided its inhabitants.

CHAPTER VI

THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE TOWN OF DARA OF
MESOPOTAMIA, HOW IT WAS BUILT ON THE BORDER OF THE ROMAN AND PERSIAN
TERRITORIES IN THE DAYS OF ANASTASIUS THE KING, AND THOMAS THE BISHOP OF THE
CITY OF AMIDA

Anastasius the king brought severe censures against the Roman generals and
commanders who betook themselves to the royal city after the conflict with the
Persians, because they did not, according to his will, under the Lord, prosper
and succeed in the war, and conquer the Persians or drive them out from Amida,
except by the gifts and the gold that were sent from him. And they alleged in
their defence to him, that it was hard for generals to contend with a king who
according to the word of God, although he was an Assyrian and an enemy, was sent
by the Lord to the country of the Romans for the punishment of sins, and,
moreover, on account of the greatness of the army which he had with him; and
that it was no easy matter for them in his absence also to subdue Nisibis;
because they had no engines ready, nor any refuge in which to rest. For the
fortresses were far away and were too small to receive the army, and neither the
supply of water in them nor the vegetables were sufficient. And they begged of
him that a city should be built by his command beside the mountain, as a refuge
for the army in which they might rest, and for the preparation of weapons, and
to guard the country of the Arabs from the inroads of the |165
Persians and Saracens. And some of them spoke to him in favour of Dara, and some
in favour of Ammodis. Then he sent a message to Thomas the bishop of Amida, and
he despatched engineers who drew up a plan, and this holy Thomas brought it up
with him to the king. And the king and the great men agreed that Dara should be
built as a city. And at that time Felicissimus was commander, an energetic and
wise man; and he was not at all covetous, but was upright, and a friend of the
peasants and the poor. Now King Kawad was fighting with the Tamuroye and other
enemies of his country. And the king gave gold to Thomas the bishop as the price
of the village which belonged to the Church; and he bought it for the treasury.
And he liberated all the serfs who were in it, and granted to each of them his
land and his house. And for the building of the church of the city he gave
several hundred pounds of gold. And he promised with an oath that he would give
with liberal hand whatever the bishop might expend, and that he would not disown
the obligation. And at last he issued a royal decree,and in full
detail, providing that the work of building the city should be carried out
according to the direction of the bishop without delay, gain and profit thereby
accruing to the craftsmen and slaves and peasants who were required for the
collection of material there. And he sent a number of stonecutters and masons;
and he commanded that no man should be deprived of the wages he earned, because
he rightly perceived and cleverly understood that by that means a city could
quickly be built upon the frontier. And when they began by the help of the Lord
and commenced the work, there were there as overseers and commissaries over it
Cyrus 'Adon and Eutychian the presbyters, and Paphnout and Sergius and John the
deacons, and others from the clergy of Amida. And the bishop himself paid
frequent personal visits |166 to the
place. And gold was given in abundance without any stint to the craftsmen and
for work of every kind, at the following rate, the regular sum of four keratin
15 a day for each workman, and if he had an ass
with him, of eight. And consequently many grew rich and wealthy. And since the
report was published abroad that the work was honest and that the wages were
given, from the East to the West workmen and craftsmen flocked together. And the
overseers who were over the work also received a liberal allowance, and their
wallets were filled; for they found the man generous, gentle, and kind; and,
moreover, he believed in the just king, and in his promises which he made to
him. And in two or three years the city was built, and, as we may say, suddenly
sprang up on the frontier. And when Kawad heard of it, and sought to put a stop
to the work, he was unable, for the wall was raised, and built high enough to be
a protection for those who took refuge behind it. And a large public bath and a
spacious storehouse were built. And a conduit was constructed which passed along
the lower part of the mountain, and wonderful cisterns within the city to
receive the water. And persons to hasten the work were frequently sent from the
king to the bishop, and they all brought back excellent reports of his integrity
and justice to the king; and he was greatly pleased with the man, and sent gold
in answer to the man's requests, and fulfilled them without delay. And at last
the number of hundred pounds which he sent was counted, and the bishop forwarded
a written statement to the king, that, speaking in the presence of God, the
money had been expended upon the work, and that no part of it remained in his
hand or had been given to his Church. And he readily sent him a royal decree
containing a receipt of the exchequer |167
to the effect that all the gold which had been sent by him had been expended
upon the building in the city. And Dara was completed, and it was named
Anastasiopolis, after the name of the just king. And he swore by his crown that
no statement of accounts should be required from Thomas or from his Church,
either by himself or by any of his successors in the kingdom. And he16
appointed there and consecrated as first bishop Eutychian the presbyter, a
zealous man, and accustomed to the transaction of business; and he gave the
privilege of certain rights to his Church, taken from the jurisdiction of the
Church of Amida. And attached to him was John, one of the Roman soldiers from
Amida. Him Eutychian tonsured, and made him a presbyter and master of the
hostelry; and when he went up to the royal city this John accompanied him. And
the king, upon his being presented to him, gave him an endowment for his church.
But Abraham Bar Kili of Thel-midè was notary at that time, who was the son of
Ephraim of Constantia, and he also attached himself to Eutychian the bishop, who
made him a presbyter. And he was sent as overseer of the work and the building
of the bath; and at last he became steward of the Church.

But the king gave Eutychian gifts of holy vessels and gold for the building
of the great church, and sent him away. And the bishop having lived but a little
longer, died. And his successor there was Thomas Bar 'Abdiyo of Resaina, who had
been a Roman soldier, and had been appointed steward of the Church of Amida; and
he also was vigilant and well versed in business. And John the master of the
hostelry, being an honourable and chaste man, was faithful to him and beloved by
him. And when this holy Thomas withdrew from his see on account of his zeal for
the faith, this believing John |168
joined him, and he appointed him as his suffragan;and for about
seventeen years he lived in exile in different places. And he sent him (John) to
Berroea,17 where he died in the year three (when
Khosrun went up to Antioch), having joined the monks who had withdrawn from
Marde before the enemy; and he was buried in the monastery of Beth-Thiri; and he
was laid beside his bishop, who entered into rest before him.

CHAPTER VII

THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE SEVENTH BOOK CONCERNING THE
EXPULSION OF MACEDONIUS THE HERETIC FROM THE ROYAL CITY

Macedonius, who was bishop of Constantinople, omitted no intrigue of heart to
conceal his opinions. But, like the fruit which bursts open in its day,
according to the saying of Job,18 and "what is
covered shall be revealed, and what is done in the secret chamber shall be
proclaimed upon the house-tops,"19 as is said,
again, in the Gospel. This man (was attached) to the monks of the monastery of
the Akoimetoi,of whom there were about one thousand, and who
lived luxuriously in baths and in other bodily indulgences, and outwardly
appeared to men honourable, and were adorned with the semblance of chastity, but
were inwardly like whited sepulchres, full of all uncleanness. And they agreed
to the mind of Macedonius; and he used to celebrate the memory of Nestorius
every year, and they used to celebrate it with him in their monastery and in the
other monastic dwellings where the same opinions were held. And consequently
they had great freedom of intercourse with this Macedonius. And they were
continually reading the writings of the school of Diodorus and Theodore; and
Macedonius himself |169 compiled a book
of quotations from them, and from the work which was drawn up by Theodoret
concerning the Acts of the Synod (not the one that is translated into the Syriac
language); and he ornamented it with gold; and he said, "It is from the
holy fathers and the doctors of the Church." And when he showed itto
the king, he would not receive it; and he said to him, "You have no need of
such things, go rather and burn this." And when he saw the mind of the king
he formed a plan for actually raising a rebellion against him; and he was in the
habit of calling him a heretic and a Manichaean. And the Master of the Offices,
because he was lavishly supplied with gifts by him, was favourably inclined
towards him. And the report was brought to the king by some true men who were no
framers of flattering words. And he held a Council; and in the presence of his
patricians he told of the insult which had been offered to him by Macedonius;
and he was distressed, and wept, and adjured them not to be influenced by fear;
but if, in truth, their king was displeasing to them, or if they knew that he
was infected with the deceit of heresy, they should take his dominion from him,
and he should be cast out as an unbeliever. And they fell upon their faces
before him, weeping. And they inveighed against the audacity of Macedonius,
crying out and reviling him; and they praised the king; and they decreed the
bishop's banishment. And in order that the Master of the Offices,20
who aided him, might be humiliated, he was commanded to expel him, so that he
should be sent to Oasis. And also Pascasius the deacon, who was attached to and
beloved by Macedonius, was arrested (and he Wrote, in the presence of the
prefect, in the records of the Acts, all his deeds), he and certain monks and
others who caused a tumult in the city to prevent the words, "God Who was
crucified for us," being proclaimed there, as they had been proclaimed in
the whole jurisdiction of Antioch from the days of Eustace the bishop. |170

And to show when and how these things were done, behold I have written down
accurately, for the instruction of the readers, the letter of Simeon the
presbyter and his brethren the monks who were with him, who happened to be at
that time in the royal city having come from the East, and who wrote to Samuel
their archimandrite concerning the expulsion of Macedonius, as follows :—

CHAPTER VIII

THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE LETTER THAT WAS
SENT FROM CONSTANTINOPLE CONCERNING THE EXPULSION OF MACEDONIUS

"To the virtuous, elect, and God-loving presbyter and archimandrite
Samuel, and to the presbyters and deacons, together with all the other brethren,
from Simeon the presbyter, in the royal city, and the brethren who are with him,
greeting. After we wrote the former letter to your Holiness concerning all that
Macedonius did in the monastery of Dalmatus against the whole truth, God stirred
up the spirit of the believing king like a lion to the prey, and he roared, and
made the whole faction of the enemies of the truth to tremble; for it is said,
'As a watercourse in the hands of the gardener, so is the heart of the king in
the hands of the Lord.' 21 May He Who has not
turned away from the prayer of His elect, and Who has not suffered the desire of
those who worship man instead of God to come to pass, grant that the matter may
receive a righteous fulfilment through your prayers; yea and amen! We testify to
you that after Macedonius did that of which we sent information to your Piety,
and anathematised those reprobate persons and the accursed Council on the 20th
of July, there was on the 22nd (the sixth day of the week) a dedication festival
at |171 the Martyr Church in the
Hebdomon; and the king himself was present. And neither he nor the queen would
receive the oblation from him; on the contrary, he even addressed him in severe
terms. But on the 24th (the first day of the week) the monks of this place went
in and communicated in the church with Macedonius, and the king was vexed with
them for going in. And on the 25th (the second day of the week) a few brethren,
who seceded from these monks, entered in and went to Mar Patrick the general,
and gave him a libel to present to the king, saying, 'We declare that he
celebrated the memory of Nestorius, and that he used to send orders to us, and
we also did the same in our monasteries every year.' And they wrote other things
against him, testifying that transactions such as these took place in their
monasteries. On that same day the king commanded, and the water which supplied
the baths was cut off from their monasteries, and only that which they drank was
left to them. And also he took away the denarii which they used to receive from
the treasury. And on the 26th, one of the senators called Romanus went in to the
king and gave him a written statement of all the things which were done at the
bishop's house; and he said to the king that Pascasius the deacon, along with
Macedonius, was the author of all the mischief; and he said besides, 'They have
made a certain large book containing extracts from all the heresies, and it is
overlaid with gold.' And the king sent for it, and took it to himself, that he
might see all its blasphemies. But on the 27th the king convened a Council; and
when the patricians went in the king said to them, 'Have you not seen what this
Jew who is amongst us did, for in my presence and that of your excellencies he
did what he did, and he anathematised the accursed Synod and those reprobate
persons; and when, to avoid great trouble, we accepted his act, he then went
off, and in the monastery of Dalmatus reversed everything which |172
he himself had done, and he contradicted the whole truth, and lied unto God and
before me and unto you. Is this a fair statement?' And at once Clementinus the
patrician said before them all, 'May God Himself cast him out from his
priesthood who has lied unto God!' And forthwith the king commanded the great
prefect to go out into the city and bring together all the orthodox who were
wounded when they cried out, 'Who was crucified for us,' that he might learn who
their assailants were. And the prefect went out and did as he was commanded. And
on the 28th he took the names of all the Nestorians who were the life of
Macedonius, and brought them in to the king; and the king commanded that they
should be arrested.

"And on the 29th the king assembled all the commanders of the forces and
all the officers of the Scholarians and the patricians, and he said to them,
'According to my regular custom I wish to give a donative.' For so it had
been his practice to give it once in five years ever since he became king, at
the same time requiring oaths from all the Romans to the effect that they would
not act treacherously against the kingdom. But on this occasion he required them
to take the oath in the following manner: A copy of the gospel being placed for
them, they went in and received five denarii each, and they swore as
follows, 'By this law of God and by the words which are written in it, we will
contend with all our might for the true faith and for the kingdom, and we will
not act treacherously either against the truth or the king.' In this manner,
indeed, he required them to take the oath, because he heard that Macedonius was
trying to raise a rebellion against him.

"On the 30th of July the king gave a largess to the whole army. On the
same day the presbyters and deacons, who separated from his clergy lest they
should be implicated |173 in his
wickedness, presented a libel against Macedonius to the king, charging him, in
addition to all his other wickedness, with calling his Majesty a Manichaean and
a Eutychianist. And on the 31st of July (the first day of the week) they went in
to the king's presence with great fear, and found him filled with rage and
agitation. And when they had waited a long time, and everyone was watching in
fear to see what commands would issue from him, he opened his mouth and began to
speak thus, 'Do you not know that from my childhood I have been brought up in
the faith; have any of you ever seen in me any departure from the truth?' And
they said, 'Far be it from us, lord.' And at once he rejoined to them, 'Since
Macedonius calls me a Manichaean and a Eutychianist, behold! before God the
Judge of all I make my defence, affirming that I neither have held nor do hold
any opinion foreign to the faith of the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers,
and of the one hundred and fifty; and I confess that One of the Persons of the
Trinity, God the Word, came down from heaven, and became incarnate from Mary the
Theotokos and ever virgin; and He was crucified for us, and He suffered
and died; and He rose again in three days, according to His own will; and He is
the Judge of the dead and of the living. I adjure you by the Holy Trinity, that
if you know anything else in me, or if you are not persuaded of the truth of
what I have said, you take this robe and crown off me and burn them in the midst
of this city.' And when he said this there was great weeping; and all the
patricians cast themselves down before him, and Patrick the general said, 'God
will not forgive, nor will your Majesty and the canons of the Church have mercy
on him who has done this.' And the king said, 'Everyone, then, who goes to
confer with Macedonius or to hold communion with him, is thereby alienated from
me.' And while they stood before him, he spoke against the Master of the
Offices, saying, 'The riches and the honour which God gave us were not
sufficient, |174 but we must needs take
a bribe in a matter of the life of all men, and we shall lose our own life.' And
while he was speaking he looked at the Master of the Offices, who had inflicted
many evils upon the believers; and the Lord, forasmuch as He is the Judge of the
dead and the living, rewarded him according to his works. And on the same day
the king set guards of Romans at the gates of the city and the harbours, lest
any of those monks here should come in to the city. And on the first of August
Pascasius the deacon was arrested, and he went in before the prefect and
confessed everything which was done in the bishop's house, saying that
Macedonius was even trying to raise a rebellion against the king. And on the day
after some Nestorians were arrested, and they affirmed that they had some forgedbooks of this heresy; and the prefect sent and brought them to the
Praetorium, and he showed them to the king and to the Senate.

"And on the sixth day of the month there was a General Council, and the
orthodox and the Nestorians who undertook the defence of Macedonius came in
before them. And they found the king standing, because some bishops belonging to
our party had entered. And the king said to these clergy of Macedonius, 'Why
have you come?' and they replied, 'If your Majesty commands, your servant will
come to your Clemency.' And he said, 'Let him go to those before whom he
proclaimed his wickedness, and who obeyed him; for, at one time, he had a
certain ornamented book, and he affirmed it was taken from the fathers, and that
they taught two Natures after the Incarnation; and I said to him, 'There is no
need for you to use this, go and burn it.' And he said to the clergy, 'What are
the two Natures and the Synod of Chalcedon which God has overturned from its
very foundations? Ye are accursed Jews, I declare to you that there is not one
God-fearing man among you who is grieved for what has been done in His Church.'
And they went out from his presence in great fear and distress. And the orthodox
were |175 loud in his praises. And when
the clergy returned to Macedonius they said to him, 'The lord of the world has,
in the presence of the Senate, anathematised the Synod of Chalcedon and everyone
who says two Natures.' And he replied to them, 'I, in my turn, anathematise
everyone who does not receive the Synod, and say two Natures.' And his
archdeacon cried out, 'Far be it from us, then, ever to have any more part or
communion with you.'

"And on the first day of the week, which was the seventh of the month,
the believers came and entered the church, and it was filled from end to end.
And when the passage from the apostle was read, all the people began to cry out
together, 'Let not him who has taken away from the Trinity enter the church; let
not him who has blasphemed against the Son of God come in hither; no one wants
the Jewish bishop; where Nestorius went, there let his disciples also go. Long
live the king, the second Constantine, the upholder of the faith; the gospel to
the throne!' And at that instant the clergy took the gospel and placed it on the
throne. And when the clergy saw the whole congregation of the church crying out
together, they also showed themselves, and cried out, shaking their stoles, and
saying, 'The victorious king has gained the victory for our Church.' And as soon
as they ceased, the great prefect delivered an address to them in the following
terms: 'We accept your goodwill and your zeal on behalf of the truth; and the
lord of the world is, as you know, very solicitous for the preservation of
orthodoxy and the peace of all the Churches; and your acclamations on behalf of
the true faith we will bring to his hearing.' And when the deacon made the
proclamation and did not mention his name, and it was not read in the Diptych,
the mysteries were celebrated : and as our Lord willed that he should go out,
the king commanded, and his banishment was decreed. And, with the object of
humiliating the Master of the Offices, he sent him to expel |176
him; and he found him in the church, whither he had fled, sitting-down, with his
head between his knees; and he said to him, 'The lord of the world has decreed
your banishment'; and the other asked, 'Whither?' and he replied, 'Where your
comrade 22went.' And the stewards of the
Church interposed, saying to him, 'We entreat your Lordship, have pity on his
old age, and let him not depart in the daytime, lest the people of the city
strike him and stone him, but in the evening time let him go.' And when they
swore that they would keep him, then he (the Master of the Offices) also left an
auxiliary forcewith them. And they said to him, ' The
king has commanded you to give up that book of the Synod which you have with
you'; and he replied, 'I will not give it.' But, being forced to do so, he laid
it on the table; and the clergy took it up and gave it to the Master's officer,23
and he brought it to the king. And in the evening of the seventh day of the
month the Master of the Offices arrived with a military force 24
and expelled him, and gave him up to those who were appointed to carry him away.
And all the orthodox were in great fear.

"Now, my lord, we have truly informed your Holiness of what has
occurred, and we shall declare to you hereafter whatever the Lord may bring to
pass. Pray for us, O elect of God!"

But the former defence made by the king proves to us that Akhs'noyo, the
believing doctor, the bishop of Hierapolis, |177
who was a zealous man, having learned that Macedonius was a heretic, sent a
written statement of the true faith to the king (as he had done also in the days
of Zeno),25 and it was read before the Senate; and
he showed that opinions in opposition to it were held by the school of Diodorus
and Theodore, and by Nestorius, their disciple, who was ejected, and by
Theodoret, and Hibo, and Andrew, and John, and Aetheric—the men who set up the
Synod of Chalcedon and received the Tome, and cleft asunder the unity of God the
Word, Who became incarnate, dividing it into two natures with their properties,
by what they taught concerning Christ after His Incarnation. And at the same
time he (Akhs'noyo) urged the king, saying, "It is right that they should
be anathematised by all who make a public boast of their own orthodoxy, and of
agreeing to the faith of your Majesty." And when Macedonius was required to
do this, he anathematised them under compulsion; but after that he used secretly
to celebrate their memory in the monastery of Dalmatus, as has been written
above.

CHAPTER IX

THE NINTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT TIMOTHY THE SUCCESSOR OF
MACEDONIUS, AND HOW IN THE DAYS OF ANASTASIUS THE KING, THE WORDS, "WHO
WAS CRUCIFIED FOR US," WERE PROCLAIMED IN THE ROYAL CITY 26

After 27 Macedonius, Timothy became bishop in
Constantinople; and he was a believing man, and his deeds were in conformity
with his name, for it means "God-honouring." And in his days there was
one Marinus of Apamea, a vigilant and clever man, well-versed in business, wise
and learned, who was, moreover, true in the faith, the friend and confidant of
the king, and a chartularius and his counsellor. And when he was |178
walking in the street or sitting anywhere, he would tell his secretariesto
commit in concise form whatever thought he had to writing. And at night also, he
had a pen-and-ink stand hanging by his bedside, and a lamp burning by his
pillow, so that he could write down his thoughts on a roll; and in the daytime
he would tell them to the king, and advise him as to how he should act. And
accordingly, as he was from the district of Antioch, all of which ever since the
days of Eustace the bishop had been so full of zeal that it was the first to
proclaim,"Who was crucified for us," he also vehementlyurged
and advised King Anastasius to do the same. And 28when some heretics heard of his ardour, they went to him together, and
said to him, "You desire and incite men on earth to go beyond the holy hymn
of praise which the angels offer to the Trinity, saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy,
mighty Lord, of whose praises heaven and earth are full.'" Immediately, God
the Word Himself, Who in the flesh was crucified for us men, prepared a defence
in his mouth to this effect, "The angels, indeed, offer the hymn of praise,
which contains their confession to the adorable and co-equal Trinity, rightly,
and do not proclaim that He was crucified for them; but we, on the other hand,
in the hymn of praise, which contains our confession, rightly say that He was
crucified for us men, for He became incarnate from us, and did not invest
Himself with the nature of angels." And so he put them to silence, and he
instructed the king, who thereupon commanded that the words, "Who was
crucified for us," should be proclaimed in the royal city as in the
district of Antioch. And at the same time a wonderful sign occurred, proving to
wise men that Christ, Who was crucified in the flesh at Jerusalem, was God;
namely, an eclipse of the sun, which took place in those days, and produced
darkness from the sixth hour unto the ninth hour. |179

CHAPTER X

THE TENTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK GIVES INFORMATION RESPECTING THE
SYNOD WHICH WAS HELD AT ZIDON IN THE YEAR FIVE, THE EIGHT HUNDRED AND
TWENTY-THIRD YEAR OF THE GREEKS, AND OF THE ANTIOCHENES THE FIVE HUNDRED AND
SIXTIETH

Akhs'noyo,29 a learned man and a Syriac doctor,
and zealous in the faith, the bishop of Hierapolis, in the days of Zeno sent a
written statement of the faith, and asked Zeno some questions about his faith,
and received a reply. And it was he who exposed Calandion of Antioch, and
ejected him from his See. But he had his suspicions also about Flavian, that he
was a heretic; and he sent a letter and urgent messengers to King Anastasius,
begging that a Synod should be held at Sidon. And the king gave the order, and
the Synod assembled in the five hundred and sixtieth year of the Antiochene era.30
And he urged the believing and zealous monks of the East, and Cosmas a learned
man from the monastery of Mar 'Akiba at Chalcis, who was residing in Antioch,
and they drew up a petition and presented it to Flavian and to the Council of
bishops who were with him at Sidon. And they wrote, in an able and logical
manner, a list of censures in seventy-seven Heads, with many quotations from the
holy doctors confirming the censure upon the Synod of Chalcedon and the Tome of
Leo, and they presented this also to the Synod, at the same "time begging
and adjuring the priests to effect reforms, and take stumbling-blocks out of the
way of the Church and purge it, by openly anathematising the Synod. But Flavian
the chief priest and some of the priests who were with him deferred the matter,
saying, "We are content with a document anathematising the school of
Diodorus, the censures of certain persons upon the twelve Heads of Cyril, and
Nestorius, lest we should arouse the sleeping dragon and corrupt many with his
poison." And so the Synod was dissolved. |180

But the zeal of Akhs'noyo urged the monks again, and they went up to
Anastasius and informed him of what had occurred in the Synod, and concerning
Flavian, that he was a heretic; and having received an order for his ejection,
and returned to the East, they assembled at Antioch against him. And some of
them were wounded, and others were killed; but nevertheless Flavian was ejected
from his See. And his successor was Severus, a learned and well-tried monk from
the monastery of Theodore the ex-pleader at Gaza, who was apokrisiarios at
the royal city, and was a confidant and friend of Probus, and his kinsmen. This
man had previously written the Philalethes, and also he had made a
solution of the seven questions of the Diphysites. And he was ready in
dispute with the heretics, and he was well known to the king by means of Probus;
and he was appointed chief priest of Antioch. And afterwards, when there was a
Synod in Tyre, he joined with Akhs'noyo, and the priests of his district, and
those of Pheenice Libani, and Arabia, and Euphratesia, and Mesopotamia in
expounding the Henotikon of Zeno, showing that its effect was to abrogate the
Council of Chalcedon. And the bishops assembled at Tyre openly anathematised the
Synod of Chalcedon and the Tome. And they wrote to John of Alexandria and to
Timothy of the royal city; and received replies from them and from Elijah of
Jerusalem, who was eventually ejected, and was succeeded by John. And because
Sergius, a grammarian there, composed shortly afterwards a book of censure upon
that Synod, and gave it to the monks from Palestine who were of his way of
thinking, this holy Severus, hearing about it, wrote a refutation of it at great
length, and by quotations and proofs derived from the true doctors of the Church
he confirmed his doctrine in three volumes, entitled, Against the Grammarian.
But the other treatises of this doctor Severus, and his commentaries, and
his Catechism, and his work, Against Julian the Phantasiast, and
his wonderful Dogmatic Letter, afford great profit and instruction to the
lovers of doctrine. |181

CHAPTER XI

THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE PETITION WHICH
WAS DRAWN UP BY MONKS OF THE EAST AND COSMAS OF CHALCIS, AND WAS PRESENTED TO
THE COUNCIL WHICH MET AT ZIDON IN THE DAYS OF FLAVIAN AND AKHS'NOYO THE
BISHOPS, IN THE FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH YEAR OF THE ANTIOCHENE ERA

"Before all things we give thanks to Christ, Who is God over all, and we
also thank our merciful Christ-loving king, who has aroused you all to zeal for
religion, and called this your holy Council to one meeting place, in the name of
one only Christ the Son of God, that in Him you may bring all men together to
the one faith, which the Holy Scriptures have delivered and the fathers have
ever kept, standing steadfastly in one mind, and being united and agreeing
together in one good man, and teaching all men the divine doctrine through the
Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them. For our Lord has accounted you to be worthy, and
chosen you at this time for the sake of the unity of his holy Churches, not that
you should make a new faith for them; because that written definition, which was
made by the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers who assembled at Nicea, is
sufficient for the affirmation of the Holy Scriptures; but that you should build
up the faith which has always existed, and which many persons have rashly sought
to destroy, speaking 'not from the mouth of the Lord,' as the prophet says, but
'from their own belly,' and by their wicked artifices they have severed from one
another those who in the simplicity of their hearts kept the tradition of the
holy fathers and were united together in the true faith. For Christ is He, O
holy men ! Who is divided by them; and, therefore, as long as He is denied, it
is not possible for the Church ever to come to any |182
agreement; seeing that it is rent asunder by these persons through the
inventions of different words. For it is written, 'No kingdom that is divided
against itself shall stand';31 and again, 'If ye
bite and devour one another, take heed lest ye be consumed one of another.'32
Since,then, we are one body in Christ, and we are members of His members,
according to the word of the divine apostle,33 we
draw near to your Holinesses with confidence as to pastors, entreating you to
keep the true faith for the whole world, without spot, like the fair dove spoken
of in the Song of Songs; and that you separate it from all heresies which have
the outward appearance of religion, and stand around it like queens and
concubines and damsels, and are anxious to associate and to be one and the same
with it, and through it to be received as true. But by doing this you shall
receive a reward, and you shall hear the Lord saying, 'Him that confesses Me
before men, will I confess before My Father Who is in heaven.'34
Separate, then, as stewards of the divine words, between the pure and the
corrupt, as He says;35 and cast out those who
mingle the tares with the pure wheat, and their evil doctrine along with them,
for He says, 'Put away the evil-doer from the congregation, and victory shall go
forth with it.'

"Now, though what has been said is manifest and well known, it was
necessary to explain it above and prove it clearly, even as the holy fathers
agreeing in one true faith bound all men together in one concord. But the
heretics have mingled lawless wranglings with the words of the holy fathers, and
confound with them schismatical impieties, and have separated the holy Churches;
whom the prophet rebuked, saying, 'Thy tavern-keepers mingle water with wine.'
"36|183

And so the petition goes on, and has many quotations from the fathers in
proof of the seventy-seven censures upon the Council of Chalcedon.

CHAPTER XII

THE TWELFTH CHAPTER, WHICH TELLS ABOUT THE SYNOD THAT WAS HELD
IN TYRE, IN THE DAYS OF SEVERUS AND AKHS'NOYO THE DOCTORS, AND THE BISHOPS WHO
WERE WITH THEM, WHO EXPRESSLY AND OPENLY ANATHEMATISED THE SYNOD AND TOME

Now Severus, who succeeded Flavian in Antioch, was a learned man by reading
the wisdom of the Greeks, and he was an ascetic and a well-tried monk, and he
was also zealous for the true faith and well-versed in it, and he had read the
Holy Scriptures with understanding and the expositions made by the ancient
authors who were disciples of the apostles, namely, Hierotheus, and Dionysius,
and Titus, and also Timothy; and after them Ignatius, and Clement, and Irenaeus,
and such writers as Gregory, and Basil, and Athanasius, and Julius, and the
other chief priests and true doctors of the holy Church. And like a "scribe
who is instructed for the kingdom of heaven, who brings from his treasures
things old and new," 37so
also he had thoroughly studied many histories, and they were rooted in his mind
clearly to be seen.

And this Akhs'noyo, also, was a Syriac doctor, and he had diligently studied
the works existing in that language, and besides these he was well-versed in the
doctrine of the school of Diodorus and Theodore and the others; but,
nevertheless, as his actions proved to the wise, this old and zealous man was
truly a believer.

These men gave full and clear information to King Anastasius, who rejected
the Council of Chalcedon with all his heart; and he commanded that, for the
purpose of effecting needed reforms, a Synod of Orientals should be assembled at
|184 Tyre. And it was assembled,
consisting of the bishops of the districts of Antioch, and Apamea, and
Euphratesia, and Osrhoene, and Mesopotamia, and Arabia, and Phoenice Libani.
And, making the true faith clear, he (i.e. Severus) expounded the
Henotikon of Zeno as meaning the abrogation of the transactions of Chalcedon;
and he openly there anathematised the addition which it had made to the faith.
And the bishops in Council assembled, along with Severus and Akhs'noyo the
believers and doctors who zealously stood at their head, proclaimed the whole
truth; and they wrote letters of agreement both to John of Alexandria, and to
Timothy of the royal city, and also Elijah of Jerusalem at that time assented to
the letters, although shortly after he was ejected, and was succeeded by John.
Consequently the priests were again united in this concord of the faith, with
the exception of the see of Rome. (And the reason of this exception was) that
Alimeric was the anti-Caesar there, and he had rebelled against Anastasius in
the Western region, and he held the kingdom in Rome. And he was a warlike man;
and in his day he rendered great service to the people of Italy, by delivering
them from the barbarians and Goths. And he also conferred many benefits upon his
city, Rome, erecting buildings and granting privileges. However, he was a Diphysite,having been converted from the heresy of Arius. Consequently there could not
be any assent on the part of Symmachus and his successor Hormisda, the chief
priests of Rome, to what was done in the East. And zealous persons can gain
information respecting these matters from the letter which Akhs'noyo wrote after
his expulsion. |185

CHAPTER XIII

THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK TELLS ABOUT ARIADNE THE QUEEN, WHO
DIED, AND HOW THE TYRANT VITALIAN CAME UPON THE SCENE, WHO TOOK HYPATIUS
PRISONER IN WAR

Ariadne 38 the queen, the wife of Zeno, was
allied to this Anastasius after the death of her husband, and she made him king;
and she held the kingdom for many years, as many as forty, in the state of first
and second marriage; and she died in the year eight hundred and twenty-four of
the Greeks. And her husband remained on, keeping the holy truth; even though he
was advanced in years, and he was occupied with the business of his kingdom.39
And he had anxiety and trouble, because of one Vitalian a Goth, who was a
general, and warlike, and courageous and daring, and cunning in war. To this man
many savage people attached themselves; and he gave them gold with a liberal
hand, and, besides, they enriched themselves with the spoil which they took from
the dominions of Anastasius. And when he had been for a long time at peace,
Vitalian broke his word; and he rebelled and injured the Roman dominions, and
oppressed the kingdom, and treated it with contempt; and he haughtily advanced
to the very suburbs of Constantinople without any fear. And at one time troops,
with Hypatius at their head, were sent against him by Anastasius; and they were
routed by him, and Hypatius was taken prisoner; and he treated him with great
indignity, and to insult him he even shut him up in a pig-sty. And upon one
occasion he put him to open shame, carrying him about through the army in the
most humiliating fashion, because Hypatius once took the wife of this Vitalian
prisoner and treated her insultingly. And in consequence of this Vitalian's
indignation against him was very strong. For in the impetuosity of his youth
this Hypatius was carnal and wanton in lust after women. And at last he was
ransomed by a large |186 sum of gold
that was sent for him, and he returned from captivity with Vitalian, possessing
the wisdom that results from punishment.40

CHAPTER XIV

THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT TIMOTHY, WHO DIED,
AND WHOSE SUCCESSOR WAS JOHN; AND OF SOME PEOPLE WHO CAME TO JERUSALEM FOR THE
FESTIVAL, AND THEY WERE POSSESSED BY DEMONS, WHO BARKED AT THE CROSS DURING
THE DEDICATION41

Timothy, having lived six or seven years, died in the year eleven. And John
succeeded him. And in the year in which Anastasius the king died, there were
some Egyptians and Alexandrians and men from beyond the Jordan, Edomites and
Arabians, who came to the festival of the dedication which is the making of the
Cross at Jerusalem, which was held on the fourteenth of September; and demons
took possession of many of them, and they barked at the Cross, and then ceased
and went out. And this caused anxiety and distress to the prudent; they did not,
however, accurately understand the reason, until the event occurred, and it
signified the wrangling about the faith, and the stumbling-block afterwards
caused thereby. This God made known beforehand, that we might consider the
temptation42 and be proved by it; and by our
enduring it and persevering in the faith we might have joy; as James the apostle
says, "Let it be all joy to you, my brethren, when you enter into divers
and many temptations; for you know that the trial of faith procures patience for
you. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be complete and
perfect, wanting nothing."43|187

Now Anastasius died on the ninth day of July. And his successor was Justin,
who went down with the army in company with the generals, at the time that
Kawad, king of the Persians, came to Amida. And he was a handsome old man with
white hair, but he was unlearned; and he shared in the opinions of the people of
Rome respecting the faith, because he belonged to that jurisdiction, being from
the campcalled Mauriana,44 the water of
which is bad, and turns to blood when it is boiled.

There is in this Book a period of twenty-seven years, three months and a
half, the lifetime of Anastasius.

CHAPTER XV

THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE SEVENTH BOOK, STATING WHO WERE CHIEF PRIESTS
IN THE DAYS OF ANASTASIUS THE KING

Now the following were the chief priests in the days of Anastasius. Of the
Diphysites:—Of Rome—Felix, and Symmachus his successor, and Hormisda who is
still living.

Of Alexandria, the believers—Athanasius, and John his successor, and again
another John, and Dioscorus who now occupies the See.

In Antioch—Flavian who was ejected, and Severus the believer.

In Constantinople—Euphemius, and Macedonius who was ejected, and Timothy
the believer, and John his successor, who received the Synod in the beginning of
the reign of Justin and died shortly after, and Epiphanius was his successor.

Of Jerusalem—Sallust, and Elijah his successor who was ejected, and John
who received the Synod in the days of Justin, and Peter his successor.

[Note to the online edition: footnotes have been moved to
the end. Footnotes concerned only with bits of Syriac and Greek have been
omitted because of the time it would take to transcribe it.]

1. 1 I.e. of the Indiction = A.D.
512.

2. 2 Called Epiphanius in the Introduction
to this Book.

3. 3 Here begins an extract in Cod. Rom.

4. 5 The words in brackets are not in the
Syriac, but they must be understood.

5. 4 ... Here the extract in Cod. Rom. ends.

6. 1I.e. by Euphemius.

7. 4 " 'Arab," a name applied to
certain districts in Mesopotamia.

8. 5 501.

9. 6 This and the three following chapters
are contained in Cod. Rom.

10. 7 Mich. fol. 156v ff.; Greg. p.
75 ff.

11. 4 There appears to be some confusion in
both texts; by a few slight alterations it might be made to yield this meaning,
"and consumed the wood of the props, and immediately it was reduced to
ashes; and the rest of the mound which escaped the violence of the fire was
loosened and fell."

12. 2 So the text; but it may be corrupt,
and the reference be to the invasion of " 'Arab" by locusts (see ch.
2).

13. 1 Cod. Rom. and Mich. add "of the
Nazarenes."

14. 4 Mich. fol. 158 v.

15. 2 1 1/3 obols.

16. 2 Thomas, bishop of Amida, seems to be
the subject of this sentence, not the king.

17. 2 540.

18. 4 Job xxxii. 19 (Syr.).

19. 5 St. Luke xii. 2, 3.

20. 5 Text, " Magisterian."

21. 1 Prov. xxi. 1.

22. 1 Probably Euphemius, who was also
banished to Euchaita.

23. 3 "Magistrian," an attendant
upon the Master of the Offices. The whole passage is a troublesome one, and I am
much indebted to M. Nau, who has published an analysis of the unedited parts of
the Chronicle attributed to Dionysius of Tellmahrè, and who, through Mr.
Brooks, kindly supplied a MS. extract from fol. 147 of the account of the
expulsion of Macedonius.

24. 4 The corresponding expression in the
Chronicle of "Dionysius" is ... a large auxiliary force."

25. 1 Assem., B. O. vol. ii. p. 34.

26. 3 This chap, is in Cod. Rom.

27. 4 Mich. fol. 156 r.

28. 4 Greg. H. E. i. p. 185.

29. 1 Mich. fol. 160 r ff.

30. 2 512.

31. 1 St. Mark iii. 24.

32. 2 Gal. v.15.

33. 3Rom. xii. 5.

34. 4 St. Matt. x. 32.

35. 5 Mal. iii. 18.

36. 12Isa. i. 22.

37. 1 Matt. xiii. 52.

38. 2 Here begins an extract in Cod. Rom.

39. 3 Here an extract in Cod. Rom. ends.

40. 1 Or literally, "And punishment is
wisdom."

41. 2 This chap, is in Cod. Rom.

42. 7 So Cod. Rom. The MS. has "the
event."

43. 9 Jas. i. 2-4.

44. 6 Or Bederiana, as Mai writes here.

This text was transcribed by Roger Pearse, Ipswich, UK, 2002. All material on this page is in the public domain - copy freely.

Greek text is rendered using the Scholars Press SPIonic font, free from here.